


Masks of Dirt

by Melyaliz



Series: The Family [3]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Neville Longbottom/Slytherin, Neville longbottom fluff, Original Character(s), Slytherin Original character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 17:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16877001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melyaliz/pseuds/Melyaliz
Summary: Emma hates dirt. But she loves to tell other people what to do. So maybe this extra credit wasn’t as bad as she thought.





	Masks of Dirt

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my The Family series. Mostly I wanted to write something with a slightly stuck up girl and Neville. I really couldn't get the idea out of my head. Maybe I'll add something later? (I honestly feel like I say this in every story I wrote)

 

* * *

 

Emma sighed as she walked slowly into one of the many greenhouses in the gardens of Hogwarts. She had been doing so poorly at her Herbology that Professor Sprout had felt bad and gave her extra credit. Trying to save her from utterly failing the class. 

Not that she wanted it.

She hated dirt.

Which she had kindly informed Professor Sprout who had just smiled sweetly at her as she handed the raven-haired girl an apron. “Better wear this dear, it’ll keep those nice robes safe from that nasty dirt.”

So here she was surrounded by plants of every kind. Wandering about aimlessly unsure of what to do. She had assumed she was alone when she heard some soft grunting. Cautiously she walked toward the noise to find Neville Longbottom potting a few plants.

She knew Neville, they had potions together.

He was not very good at potions.

Silently she stood a few feet behind the boy watched him. Emma never liked to confront someone until she knew what kind of mindset they were in. Never go into a conversation blind. Always know how the other person is feeling before you engage. So she stood there, watching the boy gracefully unpot plants and repot them. He did it with such a gentleness that Emma wasn’t even sure this was the same boy that dropped more vials and broke more mixing bowls than she could count. In fact, Emma had once seen Neville split a caldron in half doing a simple burn ointment. (The potion had called for lukewarm spider's milk and water crests to be mixed at a slow simmer) 

It was easy to see this was his element and it was a true wonder to watch.

“I don’t understand.” She finally said. Her voice startled him making him jump, whirling around knocking down an empty pot causing it to shatter.

“Oh! Hello…”

“It’s Emma.” she said walking next to him, “We have potions together.”

At the mention of the class, the chubby boy flushed. And for good reason, Professor Snape had a strange hatred for the boy. Since day one really. Emma had never really cared, as long as it wasn’t her she hadn’t really paid much attention. At first anyway. But, as the years went on she found it slightly annoying how much the oily dark-haired professor would use any excuse to belittle the boy in front of the class. That was, of course, when he wasn’t picking on, in his words, “The Great Potter”. Honestly, she was there to learn, not watch Draco snicker with pleasure while the Gryffindors got berated for the smallest things.

Not that she would ever say that.

“So why are you here?” Longbottom asked. As he picked up the pieces of the broken pot. She would have helped if these weren’t new robes… honestly, she would have.

“Extra credit, unlike you I’m well shit at this…” she flicked a small bit of dirt from her apron. Really how did that get there, she hadn’t even started. “Sort of thing.”

“Well…. Uhh I can help you.”

She cocked a perfect eyebrow, “Really? Aren’t we supposed to be rivals or something… Slytherins and Gryffindors…”

“I don’t have to…”

“No please! I’m desperate to pass so I never have to do this again.”

“Ok”

He was an amazing teacher. Eager to help but also very patient while explaining the exact reasons why things needed to be done. He had a way of explaining things to her without talking down to her. He was good at this, it had been obvious when she had watched him, yet hearing him talk about the plants to say he was good didn’t quite cover it.

It was a true love. The way he would work with the plants. As if each had it’s own feelings and personality. Each needed its individual treatment, some rough, some gentle and others a combination of the two. It reminded Emma of how she treated the people around her. In their own individual way. She was never the same Emma with any person. Each Emma was tailored toward the person she was talking too, much like how Neville was with these plants. 

It was the one thing the dark-haired girl was proud of. Reading people, reaching them on their level. She had a way of seeing through their fake exteriors to see the people they were under those masks. They didn't need to say. It was in what they did, the inflections in their voices. A person's breathing could pick up and she would know things about them they didn't even know about themselves.  

So as she stood there working with the timid Gryffindor it surprised her how confident he was. How everything she had thought about the boy was nothing she was seeing. 

“How are you are so good at this yet so shit at potions? They are very closely related.”

The question caught him off guard. He didn’t know much about the girl next to him other than seeing her around. She was very pretty and many of the guys, even Gryffindors, talked about her but he had never given her much thought other than that. In fact, Neville didn’t have many conversations with Slytherins in general so maybe they were all as straightforward as the girl next to him.

Or maybe it was just her. 

“I… I just don’t feel very comfortable.”

“Snape’s a twat sometimes.”

He nodded slowly. As if the professor was there ready to jump out at any moment. Were you allowed to call a professor a twat?

“But you shouldn’t let him bother you. I bet behind all that snark he was once an insecure boy like you when he went to school here.” She brushed away a few strands of her hair with the back of her hand trying not to get any dirt on her face, “The worst bullies usually are.”

“He kind of scares me.”

“No.”

He looked at her in surprise as she held a gloved finger in his face. “You can never let them see you bleed! That’s what they will pray on. Sharks in the water and all… It’s all about confidence. Next time you’re in class pretend you’re here, doing what you’re good at.”

They fell back into silence for a while finishing up the plants.

“Welp, I’m done,” Emma said pulling off the gloves. “That’s enough dirt for a lifetime.” Neville chuckled watching her as she put her gloves with the rest of the pile. “See you around Longbottom.”

“Hey, thanks” he called after her. She paused turning meeting his lopsided grin. “What you said. It was just… nice of you.” She wasn’t sure why he was thanking her but she decided not to ask. After all, more people really should be thanking her for her very existence. She was, after all, God's gift to the human race.

“Of course.” She said flipping her hair back as she flounced out.

—————-

“He was thanking you for what you said about Snape.”

“Why? It’s not like it’s not true… honestly, people are so dumb sometimes.”

Alfie chuckled as he stroked a few chords on his guitar, “You always act like you don’t care about anyone, but I think you do.”

“I’m not a sensitive artist like you Alfie, I really don’t.”

“GUYS!” Clara ran into the room waving the rainbow scarf that she had gotten over Christmas contrasting horribly with her Gryffindor robes. Honestly, Emma wished Clara would throw thorribleable thing out like she had told young cousin to weeks ago, “Guess what Fred told me! There are tunnels all over the castle!”


End file.
